Canowindridae
Fossil of Gyroptychius agassizi
- Antarctica, Australia
- Europe, Greenland
The Canowindridae are an extinct family of fish meat -finned fishes ( Sarcopterygii ), which occurred from the Middle Devonian to Late Devonian. Fossils of the family were in southeastern Australia ( states of New South Wales and Victoria) and found in an Antarctic dry valleys in Victoria Land in East Antarctica. The assignment of Gyroptychius from Europe and Greenland is uncertain.
Features
The Canowindridae had very wide and flat heads, parietal, intertemporal and supratemporal ( Temporal = temporal bone ) could be grown together. The Extrascapulare, another skull bones, had a wide rear and a narrow front end. The cheekbone was twice as long as high. The main post- orbital bones was short, had no contact with the rim of the orbit and was separated from it by several small bones. The all Canowindridae very small eyes are probably a symplesiomorphes feature and also appeared at the Porolepiformes. The gill covers were great. In the family were on both original rhombic shaped Kosmoidschuppen, as well as in Canowindra, roundhouse with a central projection on the inside and without Cosmin, as in the Tristichopteridae.
Genera
- Beelarongia, Long, 1987 ( Victoria, Australia)
- Canowindra M'Coy, 1848 (New South Wales, Australia)
- Gyroptychius, Smith, 1939 ( Europe, Greenland ), (assignment uncertain)
- Koharolepis, Young, Lo & Ritch, 1992 ( Antarctica )
- Marsdenichthys, Long, 1985 ( Victoria)
System
The Canowindridae be assigned to the Osteolepiformes, a Fleischflossergruppe, which is considered paraphyletic today.
The systematic position cladogram shows the following:
Elpistostegalia / land vertebrates ( Tetrapoda )
Platycephalichthys
Tinirau
Tristichopteridae
Medoevia
Osteolepis
Gyroptychius
Canowindridae
Rhizodontidae
Kenichthys